Hitmakers headline the 35th annual SunFest, the Science Center marries birdies and brewskis, and PAMM resurrects the art of belly dancing. Plus, Carl Palmer, Marky Ramone, a culinary documentary and more in your week ahead.
WEDNESDAY TO SUNDAY
What: SunFest
Weezer performs at SunFest Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Downtown West Palm Beach Waterfront
When: Varies by day
Cost: $35-$75
Contact: 561/659-5980
Iconic acts from the eclectic realms of alternative rock, hip-hop and classic rock join emerging electronic, dance and indie acts at the venerable spring festival, which celebrates its 35th anniversary. Eternal adolescents Blink-182, bedroom-turned-arena rockers Weezer, epic Georgia jam band Widespread Panic and rap elder statesman Snoop Dogg are among the top billers, with heartland rockers 3 Doors Down, reggae royalty Ziggy Marley, Sunshine State hip-hop superstar Flo Rida and alt-rock hitmakers X Ambassadors contributing to the festival’s customary variety. Changes this year include an innovative Art District, which replaces SunFest’s traditional juried art exhibition with a new layout featuring live art demonstrations; and the ChillZone, a respite with lounges, wine bars and lawn games for those seeking some between-band R&R.
THURSDAY
What: Twilight Golf
Where: South Florida Science Center, 4801 Dreher Trail N., West Palm Beach
When: 5 to 8 p.m.
Cost: $10-$25
Contact: 561/832-1988, sfsciencecenter.org
Have you played the South Florida Science Center’s new Conservation Course yet? If not—or even if you have—Thursday represents the best day to test your short game on the miniaturized links. Designed by golf legends and Palm Beach County residents Jack Nicklaus and Jim Fazio, the course is fun, challenging and educational, enlightening club carriers on issues affecting our fragile ecosystem. And it’s imminently playable at dusk, even with the handicap of a cold brewski. This event, “Birdies, Beer and Brats,” features brews and bratwurst with the price of admission. Underage duffers receive sodas and brats, and the event also includes face painting, alligator interactions and other family activities.
What: Opening night of “Youssef Nabil: I Saved My Belly Dancer”
Where: Perez Art Museum, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: $12-$16 museum admission
Contact: 305/375-3000, pamm.org
New York-based, Egyptian-born artist Youssef Nabil returns to his ethnic and cultural roots with his latest video, “I Saved My Belly Dancer,” which marries high artistry, elegiac ambience and Hollywood charisma. As the title indicates, Nabil aims to resurrect the tradition of belly dancing back to its revered status as a staple at Middle Eastern weddings and other celebrations. Belly dancing, Nabil posits, has come under fire both from religious fundamentalists in the Arab world and feminist organizations in the west, and Nabil’s drama restores this time-honored custom with the aid of actors Tamar Rahim and Salma Hayek (hence the Hollywood star power) and a rigorous visual palette that evokes ancient westerns and hand-tinted photographs. The exhibition runs through Oct. 1, but at Thursday’s opening, you can listen to Nabil discuss his work in a conversation with PAMM Assistant Curator Jennifer Inacio.
FRIDAY
What: Opening night of “In Search of Israeli Cuisine”
Where: Living Room Theaters at FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton
When: Show times pending
Cost: $6.50-$9.50
Contact: 561/549-2600, fau.livingroomtheaters.com
If you think you have a pretty good idea about what Israeli cuisine is, it will probably be greatly expanded, if not wholly upended, by this globetrotting documentary by Robert Sherman. In a series of verite-style culinary snapshots, the film chronicles the home cooks, farmers, vintners and cheese makers who have collectively formed a cuisine that integrates more than 100 cultures, and whose roots stretch back just three decades. The film’s narrator and guide is someone who knows a thing or three about Israeli food: Michael Solomonov, the James Beard award-winning chef of pioneering Philadelphia restaurant Zahav and the author of a New York Times best-seller on the subject. This scrumptious survey inevitably touches on more than just ingredients and cooking, but as much as Israel is a divided land, food has proven to be a uniting factor. “Food is not political,” one interviewee says, arguing that a tomato doesn’t know a Palestinian from an Israeli. If you leave the theater as hungry as you are enlightened, don’t worry: Boca Raton is home to the kosher Boca Grill and Pita ‘N Go.
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
What: Carl Palmer
Where: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $45-$60
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
Drummers in rock bands rarely get the spotlight all to themselves: Most of them are sequestered toward the back of the stage, keeping time while the showmen of the band, well … show. But Carl Palmer is no stranger to the complicated drum solo, or the spotlight that accompanies it. As one-third of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the progressive rockers who successfully married classical, jazz, pop and rock in the experimental heyday of the early ‘70s, he led the band’s compositions as much as he followed, earning a place in Modern Drummer’s Hall of Fame in 1989. These days, as the only living member of his genre-defying trio still alive, he’s always the main draw at his concerts—performances that marinate in the legacy of his former group. Accompanied by a guitarist and bassist schooled in ELP’s dense catalog, Palmer’s sets features ELP’s finest cuts, from their inspired originals to their spaced-out takes on pieces by Bartok, Copland and Mancini.
What: Reggie Wilson’s Fist and Heel Performance Group
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $32
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
Provocative Brooklyn choreographer Wilson’s latest piece, “Citizen,” explores the historical issue of belonging in the African-American community. Inspired by American expat creatives who forged their paths in Paris—such as Maya Angelou, Nina Simone and Louis Armstrong—as well as those who stayed in a U.S. that deemed them second-class citizens, this modern-dance showcase for five soloists is rich in layering and repetition, entangling and disentangling. It’s the last, highly anticipated show in the Kravis Center’s 2016-2017 P.E.A.K.—Provocative Art at Kravis—series.
SATURDAY
What: Passenger Festival
Marky Ramone will kick off Wynwood’s Passenger Festival Saturday at 8 p.m.
Where: Mana Garage, 318 N.W. 23rd St., Miami
When: Noon to 11:30 p.m.
Cost: Free during the day, $30-$60 for evening concert
Contact: 305/573-0371, manawynwood.com
Percussionist Marc Steven Bell is best known for his iconic nom de plume: Marky Ramone. For six prolific years, Bell manned the drums for the Ramones, arguably the most innovative—and yet the simplest—American punk band of all time, fusing energy, humor, snarl and Beach Boys harmony into a fizzy, genre-defining sound. Though Bell has released a smattering of solo material since the Ramones’ dissolution, his marathon set lists are composed of his former band’s three-chord glory, featuring both deep cuts and hits like “I Wanna Be Sedated” and “Blitzkrieg Bop.” Ramone will headline this Wynwood music festival, joining Miami acts Jacuzzi Boys and Milk Spot for the 8 p.m. concert. But show up early for free live music in the afternoon and a vendor market featuring vinyl records, rock ‘n’ roll attire and used books.
